Cooper & Hill

Around a month ago I received an email from George at Cooper & Hill explaining that Cooper & Hill have been designing and selling ready to wear and bespoke handbags for the past 10 years. They were about to launch a website and I was invited to be part of a private use group to give feedback on the website and be involved in a project they are now running for all followers. What we did in the user group was help to design a purse, that is the purse above, and it is called The Richmond Purse.As a thank you we all received the purse we helped design, (isn’t it beautiful?!), and I wanted to share that and the process with you.

I wanted to mention the packaging that my purse was in, I believe all of the products arrive like this and I think it makes the shopping experience that much more special.

The purse itself was within a really soft drawstring bag which also showcases the Cooper & Hill logo, the purse and bag were then in the slide out box above.

I am a sucker for packaging and how it looks so I wanted to show you the quality of the packaging before I go on to the purse!

The process that we followed is now being used on the main social media pages and is called #CrowdDesign.

Firstly, we were asked questions about what we put in our purses, this then changed from just our comments into a poll.

We were then asked various questions about size, shape, colours, fastenings and much more.

Once all of these questions had been answered we shared images of purses that we liked or were currently using, then came the exciting bit. Choosing from 3 designs for our favourite purse that was going to be designed and sold, this is the design that won!

The purse itself is called The Richmond Purse, again something we voted on, and is now available from the Cooper & Hill website.

The outer material is real leather in a vintage red colour and the interior is a neutral suede, they are ten slots for debit/credit cards and an internal zipped compartment for change.

I really love how beautiful this purse looks and how useful it is with all of the different compartments, it is something you can use every day.

Although I do think the best part about this is the fact that I helped to design it so it is awesome to have received the final product!

Since then, Cooper & Hill have done another #CrowdDesign via their social media channels, (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest), to design a messenger bag, and of course I joined in!

I have found being part of this process so fun and it is a great way to engage new customers.

Alongside this project, the company sell some beautiful ready to wear bags/purses at really affordable prices and you also have the opportunity to create you own bespoke bag, (I believe these normally come in at around £150 – £300).

What do you think of this purse? Would you join in the next #CrowdDesign?